


Kill Your Double

by steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeb



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-14
Updated: 2013-10-14
Packaged: 2017-12-29 09:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1003644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeb/pseuds/steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"And I fell instantly in love."  Never has Cecil hated those words so much in all his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kill Your Double

Everything looked relatively familiar, only it was all...off. Cecil felt a major difference in the air of whatever this place is and that of his beloved Night Vale. His surroundings were bright enough, but the atmosphere also weighed on him as if it were mixed with some sort of odorless gas. He could tell wherever he was, it was certainly not home.

the residents looked like those in Night Vale. A small woman with gray hair poking upwards and in various directions watered a statue of a stuffed crow, cooing at it and petting its lifeless feathers. Old Woman Josie did the same only with a cat she kept for more than 30 years (it was born in the same litter as Koshekh). But this woman, who looked like Old Woman Josie and had all the same mannerisms and gait, was simply not her. 

It was her double.

And suddenly Cecil knew. This was Desert Bluffs. It's layout was largely the same as Night Vale, and although it was far brighter in color it also felt entirely as though made of plastic. Similar storefronts and buildings were arranged along the main road where Cecil stood, but every object he saw bore the "StrexCorp" logo in some fashion. StrexCorp, who bought the Night Vale Community Radio station only a few hours ago, littered the entire town in some fashion. Cecil barely finished the broadcast when he was pulled from the chair and blindfolded, walked down the hallway, and shoved to his knees outside the building. Only he never formally walked through a door, at least he did not hear one open as he was dragged along. He never saw who wrapped the blindfold around his head, who picked him up, who held the electrified prod to keep him docile. The atmosphere simply went from that of the station's cool air conditioner to the putrid and dry air of Desert Bluffs.

He wondered if Carlos knew of his absence. If anyone knew, actually. Was Station Management aware, were they in any position to do anything? Probably not. But Cecil had to get home, he had to get back to Carlos. There had to be a way back; Night Vale and Desert Bluffs challenged each other's throughout the year in just about every sport imaginable. Cecil spun in a circle to find something familiar, spotting the tall radio tower towards the edge of town. He could run the distance in a matter of minutes, it was less than a mile from where he stood. He only needed to avoid the stone-black eyes and medicated smiles of the Desert Bluffs citizens. Whatever caused the air to be so thick most likely caused the soul-less smiles of those living here. 

As as he bolted down the street, he kept his eyes down much of the way. Cecil could simply not look at the fake facade of this town. Nothing about it was real. He tore through the front door of the radio staton, gritting his teeth against the loud groan of the rusted door. It appeared as though no one used the door in a hundred years or better. The inside looked completely ransacked, but the only papers littering the floor were advertisements and flyers for StrexCorp. But sitting on a lone table was a radio tuned to the call numbers for the station in Night Vale. He flipped on the radio just as the broadcast began.

"Hello listeners," the voice rang, extremely cheery and bright compared to Cecil's own deep and calming tones. "This is Kevin, and we are having a beautiful day here in Night Vale. I'm sure your regular broadcaster will be back as soon as he is able, so for now I am here to keep you on your schedule and help everything go as smoothly as possible today!" Cecil automatically loathed the voice.

"You know, listeners, as I was walking to the studio today I walked right past a man and I stopped to meet him, maybe chat for a few minutes. His name is Carlos! Hello, my new friend Carlos!" Cecil's heart suddenly raced inside his chest, pounding as though it were trying to break through his sternum. "And I will tell you a little secret, listeners."

Cecil held on to the edge of the desk for support.

_"I fell in love instantly."_

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a post floating around tumblr that someone wanted to see turned into a fic, so when I find the post I will link to it here :-)


End file.
